6 best golf resorts in Scotland, England and Wales | GOLF Top 100 Resorts

The world may be getting smaller, but its collection of top-shelf golf resorts remains vast. From the American Heartland and the shimmering coasts of the Caribbean to the peaks of Europe and the majesty of Asia and the South Pacific, virtually every region on the planet is home to a sampling of the game’s finest stay-and-play experiences. To learn about the best golf resorts in Scotland, England and Wales, keep reading below.

To browse GOLF’s complete 2023-24 list of the Top 100 Golf Resorts in the World, click here.   

For summaries of the best resorts in other regions, browse: Best in the U.S. & Canada | Best in Mexico | Best in the Caribbean/Americas | Best in Ireland | Best in Continental Europe | Best in Middle East & Africa | Best in Asia | Best in Australia, New Zealand & Fiji

Browse all of GOLF’s course rankings: Top 100 Courses in the World | Top 100 Courses in the U.S. | Top 100 Courses You Can Play | Top 100 Value Courses in the U.S. | America’s Best Municipal Courses | Top 100 in the U.K. and Ireland | Top 100 Short Courses in the World

The best golf resorts in Scotland, England and Wales (2023-24)

The Belfry Hotel & Resort
Wishaw, West Midlands, England

The Belfry Hotel & Resort is an award-winning hotel situated in the heart of the country, in Royal Sutton Coldfield, North Warwickshire. It is home to 319 luxurious bedrooms and suites, several restaurants and bars, events and meeting spaces, a leisure club and The Belfry Spa. The hotel is also home to three championship golf courses, including the Brabazon and PGA National, and has hosted more Ryder Cups than any other venue. The Belfry Hotel & Resort is the perfect place to relax and unwind, or to enjoy a fun-filled activity break. It is committed to sustainability and has been awarded a number of environmental certifications. It’s also located just a short drive from Birmingham and Coventry, making it a convenient base for exploring the Midlands region of England. Whether you are a golfer, a business traveler, or a family looking for a fun vacation, you are sure to find something to enjoy at The Belfry. [LEARN MORE HERE]

Celtic Manor Resort
Newport, South East Wales, Wales

Celtic Manor features four courses, including the Twenty Ten course, which was built specifically to host the 2010 Ryder Cup. The resort also features two other 18-hole courses, one built by Colin Montgomerie and one by Robert Trent Jones Sr. Celtic Manor was also host to the Wales Open from 2000 to 2014. That’s also in addition to a nine-hole municipal course and a nine-hole par-3 course. However, a golf-only retreat this is not, with plenty of other activities to chose from, including a ropes course, mini-golf and racket course. The resort was also host to the 2014 NATO Summit. [LEARN MORE HERE]

Fairmont St. Andrews
St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland

Looking for perhaps the most dramatic getaway to the home of golf? Look no further than the Fairmont St. Andrews. Located on 520 acres just 10 minutes away from the Old Course, the Fairmont St. Andrews features some of the most dramatic views and scenery in the region. The resort features two courses of its own: the Torrence, a championship links that has hosted the DP World Tour; and the Kittocks, an outward-and-inward loop known for the astonishing backdrops afforded by its sea-view putting greens. The hotel’s rustic and earthy tones are perfectly complemented by the dramatic views of the North Sea and nearby cliffs. If you’d like even more space, you can opt for an open-planned suite or one of the resort’s manor homes, which are just a short walk from the main building. The resort also features a luxurious spa with ​​aromatherapy steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi, experience showers and 10 treatment rooms. [LEARN MORE HERE]

Gleneagles
Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland

The visiting golfer can find every level of the game at Gleneagles. From the Centenary Course, designed by Jack Nicklaus, which hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup, to two other championship-level courses, to a nine-hole track named “The Wee Course,” all the way down to a pitch ’n’ putt loop, there is always more golf to be played at Gleneagles. And if it’s practice you seek, a full PGA academy is also on-site. Off the course, Gleneagles is all about being outdoors. There’s outdoor driving through hills and streams in a rugged jeep. There are trails for cycling, hiking and horse-back riding. There is plenty of room for competition, too, with grass tennis courts, croquet and lawn games. [LEARN MORE HERE]

The Grove
Watford, Hertfordshire, England

Visiting The Grove is about exhaling. Sitting down. Letting time pass by. Everything at The Grove is made for relaxing, from climbing in the woods to, yes, kicking your feet up in box seats at an Arsenal football match. If that’s what you’d like, The Grove can make it happen. Somewhere in the middle of those activities is going up in a hot-air balloon tour over all of Hertfordshire. That’ll provide the best view of the championship golf course. The most avid golfers will be pleased to find a Trackman range setup on property to help dial in your game before recreating some of the same shots PGA Tour pros have played over the past two decades. Inside The Grove’s “Walled Garden,” you can find tranquility just a short drive from London. [LEARN MORE HERE]

Trump Turnberry
Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland

Turnberry originated as a part of the renowned Culzean estate and was originally a Willie Fermie design. The golf course has been associated with the Turnberry hotel for over 100 years. Mackenzie Ross reconstructed the championship Aisla course after WWII, and after Trump Golf took over, the course was redone again, under the eye of Martin Ebert, to better utilize the jagged cliffs. Turnberry became an Open venue in 1977 and has hosted four championships since then. [LEARN MORE HERE]